You shouldn't get poisoned by rare, or even blue steak - bacteria is only on the surface and is killed in the pan with any level of cooking.

Only reason you'd get poisened by rare steak was if the meat had spoiled - then you'd get poised by the same steak medium rare, medium, or whatever. Bad meat is bad meat.

That's exactly right. The real concern is ground beef or other forms of contamination due to poor processing and handling. People should be more worried about the Sushi they eat rather than quality raw beef. So feel free to Carpacccio away!

A few days ago a friend and I grabbed some fresh Chuck from the store and ground our own burgers at home via Kitchenaid. Ended up cooking underdone apparently so it was still a bit raw inside. Freaking thing was so delicious we couldn't stop eating it regardless. Best damned burger (King Hawaiian buns, sauteed mushrooms and onions and fresh Swiss) I've had since Hubert Keller's Burger Bar (Rossini) . Not one trip to the boy's room. Can't say that for most places that cook well done.

fyi, a porterhouse (or t-bone) is indeed a filet on the small side, but the larger side is a strip, not the ribeye

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigmode

Well roughly (and I'm strictly a layperson) this Ruth's Chris Porterhouse is a fillet and ribeye separated by bone, about 1.75" cooked. I would guess the bone contributes to the juiciness, partly due to the thin layer of fat between it and the cut. More or less in one steak you get the smooth, lean, beefy flavor of the fillet, and the fatty marbling of the rib section.

So what makes it worth $75? The cut, preparation, size, the escargot blanketed with baked-to-a-crust mozzarella at the beginning, and the excellent coffee and bread pudding in the end.

Coming from an Indian family, steak was never really a big part of our diet, though my parents never had a problem with me getting a hamburger, pepperoni or any beef in particular. In any case, my dad grew up learning that all meat must be well cooked so he always ordered any steak he ate (which was very occasional) well done, so when I had my first steak, I also had it well done. Since then, even though I still only eat steak very occasionally, I've moved down to medium to medium well, but I can't bring myself to go any further down the cooking scale. I've tried medium rare and rare and the texture just feels very off to me. This would also be why I usually don't worry about trying prime cuts of beef since I know that any nuances of flavor will probably be lost on me.

My family was big on well done as I grew up, so I never really loved steak, it was always bland. I recently got to try some nice steak at a friend's house, tried rare, medium rare and medium. Fell in love with medium rare.

Typically medium or medium-rare. I prefer the steak to be warm in the center, no coolness.

The best steak I've ever had was a Porterhouse at Quality Meats on West 58th Street in New York, a treat best reserved for very special occasions unless you're affluent. Steak like that makes you sit back and shut your eyes, basking in the delicious flavor.